High school cross country state roundup: Title winners and South Sound notables
The WIAA state high school cross country championships were held at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Saturday. Here’s what happened in the races.
4A BOYS
Kamiakin’s Ezra Teeples (15:33.00) paced the field by nearly 15 seconds — a dominant performance that earned the 4A’s individual state title at Sun Willows on Saturday.
Teeples trailed by a half-second at the two-mile mark, earning the entirety of his 14-second winning margin in the final minutes.
Saturday’s top-10 featured four South Sound runners, headlined by Tahoma junior and third-place finisher Cooper Boyle (15:47.60), also the district champion. Curtis boasted a pair of runners in the top-nine (William Lanser, Dima Serafimovici), and Emerald Ridge’s Ben Sauer placed 10th.
Boyle guided Tahoma to a third-place team trophy, the highest finish among 4A South Sound programs. Bears senior Porter Buck (16:26.20) finished 24th.
Bauer — along with Alejandro Miramontes and Kevin Alfaro in the top-50 — led Emerald Ridge to an eighth-place team finish. Curtis placed ninth.
4A GIRLS
Skyline’s Anna Callahan dominated the 4A field, the leader for the entirety of Saturday’s state championship at Sun Willows before hoisting the individual trophy.
Callahan (17:47.00), a senior, stormed to victory by nearly 30 seconds, the only runner in sight when the Spartans senior crossed the finish line.
Bellarmine Prep’s Alison Whalen (18:17.60), who was the District 3/4 champion, secured a third-place state finish, the only South Sound representative in the top-20.
Whalen’s efforts — and four more runners in the top-100 — earned the Lions a fifth-place team trophy.
Emerald Ridge’s Isabelle Cochran (19:46.90) and Kayla Gibson (19:49.20) headlined a Jaguars program that finished eighth.
Puyallup placed 11th; Curtis placed 16th.
3A BOYS
Mercer Island’s Owen Powell emerged from a six-man race in the final minutes, the eventual 3A boys champion and fastest time among all classifications (15:19.30) at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Powell joined Sophia Rodriguez as individual 3A champions from Mercer Island; Rodriguez won the girls meet earlier Saturday afternoon.
A duo of Gig Harbor runners finished in the top-seven: Jonathan Miles (15:46.50) finished fifth, and Preston Fradet (15:51.80) placed seventh.
Seattle Prep claimed the team title with five runners in the top-30. But five programs from the South Sound placed: Central Kitsap (third), Gig Harbor (ninth), Yelm (15th), Lakes (17th), and Stadium (20th).
Central Kitsap’s Blake Reynolds (16:16.40) and Mana Voss (16:24.4) placed 20th and 26th, respectively, and Michael Vlach (16:29.80) finished 32nd. Gavin Brown (16:35.50) rounded out the top-35.
Spanaway Lake’s John Glick (16:43.40) finished 40th. Yelm’s Sam Hall (16:48.10) finished 43rd.
3A GIRLS
Mercer Island’s sister-duo prevailed at Sun Willows on Saturday — Sophia and Victoria Rodriguez claimed the first- and second-place individual cross country trophies, respectively, convincing finishes more than eight seconds ahead of the field.
Sophia, a freshman, took the meet by storm in her first year with a first-place time of 17:21.90. Victoria, a junior, finished in 17:36.50.
Both rallied from mid-race deficits, trailing Peninsula’s Elektra Higgins and Bonney Lake’s Latham West after one mile.
Higgins (17:44.90) claimed third place, and West (18:03.50) finished fourth.
Central Kitsap (74) claimed consecutive state titles, comfortably ahead of second-place Bishop Blanchet (133) on Saturday. Five runners from Central Kitsap finished in the top-26, headlined by Clare Herring’s ninth-place individual finish (18:43.90).
Gig Harbor’s Lejla Carlsson finished sixth (18:30.20) and led the Tides to a fourth-place team finish.
Higgins guided Peninsula to a 13th-place team finish.
Stadium’s Katelyn Galloway (18:53.60) finished 15th — the Tigers program placed 10th.
Lakes’ program placed 18th, led by Opal Johnson (19:15.20). Auburn Riverside placed 20th.
2A BOYS
Parker Mong (Anacortes) edged Jacob McManus (Columbia River) by a four-second margin, claiming Saturday’s individual 2A cross country title at Sun Willows.
Two miles in, Mong was less than one second behind the leader — passing both McManus and Selah’s Nicolas Spener en route to the title (15:27.30).
Enumclaw’s McCoy Brooks (fifth), a district champion, and Steilacoom’s Caleb Wilcox (11th) notched top-11 finishes.
Sehome’s depth of talent claimed the team title (62), featuring four runners in the top-20 and all seven of its competitors in the top-31.
Brooks guided the Hornets to a seventh-place team finish.
Tumwater’s program placed 12th; Steilacoom placed 13th, headlined by Brooks.
Fife boasted six runners in the top-150, earning 15th overall.
2A GIRLS
East Valley of Spokane’s Logan Hofstee (17:20.80) dominated the field en route to the 2A Girls individual cross country title at Sun Willows.
By the one-mile mark, Hofstee had built a 26-second lead, and through two miles, was ahead of the 152-competitor field by 55 seconds.
Bellingham’s Sophie Koch, the individual runner-up, arrived at the finish line 56 seconds after Hofstee.
Hofstee was the only runner to break the 18 minutes.
Sehome (40) claimed the 2A team title with four runners in the top-10.
A quartet of 2A SPSL programs scattered the team leaderboard. White River’s Emma Tomlinson (19:16.90) placed ninth individually, guiding the Hornets to the fourth-place team trophy.
Steilacoom’s Elise Rodger (20:28.20) led the Sentinels to a 10th-place team finish. Enumclaw’s program finished 13th; Washington placed 16th.
1A BOYS
Annie Wright’s Will Carroll claimed the 1A boys individual cross country title on Saturday, eight seconds ahead of a three-man photo finisher for runner-up.
Carroll (16:01.70) led the field through the one- and two-mile markers, never surrendering the pace before crossing the finish line at Sun Willows Golf Course.
Northwest’s Desmond Stanfield (16:09.00) outlasted Nickolas Luce (Lynden Christian) to claim runner-up by less than one second.
Cascade Christian’s Noah Mitton (16:42.70) finished 14th. Charles Wright Academy’s Dylan Manning (17:03.90) finished 23rd.
Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) claimed Saturday’s 1A team title. Charles Wright Academy (12th) was the lone South Sound representative on the team leaderboard.
1A GIRLS
Hoquiam’s Jane Roloff dashed to the individual 1A Girls state title at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Saturday morning.
Roloff’s time of 18:28.00 bested the field by more than 10 seconds. A pair of East Jefferson runners took second and third, respectively: Aaliyah Cassidy Yearian (18:38.8) and Fiona Fraser (18:39.10).
Eatonville’s Grace Coonrod (20:22.40) finished 21st.
Charles Wright Academy’s Daphne Glenn (21:31.50) placed 52nd.
Lakeside (Nine Mile) hoisted the team title with a first-place team score of 128.
Vashon Island boasted a trio of top-85 individual finishers, earning the Pirates 16th place as a team: Cecelia Guenther (22:10.80), Madeline Yarkin (22:10.80), and Emily Harrington (22:11.70).
1B/2B BOYS
No competitor came close to Dexter Delaney — the Liberty Bell junior coasted to an individual 1B/2B boys title at Sun Willows, exactly 41 seconds ahead of the field.
Delaney (15:45.10) topped St. George’s Benjamin Morales (16:26.21), the runner-up.
Valley Christian (77) won the team title convincingly. Pope John Paul II clinched the second-place team trophy (100) with four runners in the top-40, the team runner-up for consecutive seasons.
1B/2B GIRLS
Ruby Henry (Pope John Paul II) outlasted Leki Albright (Liberty Bell) to claim Saturday’s 1B/2B individual girls title at Sun Willows.
Henry, a freshman and reigning district champion, edged senior-Albright in a two-woman race that was decided by three seconds.
Henry led the pack with a one-mile time of 6:04.30, and completed her title run in 19:29.10.
All seven of Pope John Paul II’s runners individually placed 21st or better, securing the team title (45).
The Eagles that joined Henry to hoist the team trophy: Ariel Brewer (20:00.30), Adeline Hecht (21:01.70), Isla Valpiani (21:29.80), Lucy Kondrat (21:53.60), Taylor Ames (22:40.50), and Natania Steinbrecher (22:50.20).
Covenant of Tacoma’s Elinor Agustsson, a freshman, secured a sixth-place individual finish (20:08.40).
This story was originally published November 4, 2023 at 4:50 PM.
